6 responses to “Let’s Face It”

I think American civilization as we knew it, has been getting destroyed slowly, for a long time… it’s part of a larger cycle of the most unfortunate sides of human nature & perhaps a larger picture of chaos. I like to think those of us who would naturally nurture, over being destructive can make a difference. I think gardening is a part of following up on one’s own desire to do something nurturing – instead of being destructive. I’ve gone as far as to consider getting a plot of land and farming!

from Crescent Dragonwagon, via FB: Started gardening in 196, loosely part of back-to-the-land self-sufficiency movement. I was 16; didn’t think I’d live to see 20 as I saw the earth trembling on the edge of human-created ecocide. I’m 58 now; still see the world trembling but can no longer even try to date the end of “as we know it ” ; am amazed & glad that environment is now part of our lingua franca & common conversation, tho the news still gets worse and worse & outlook’s still grim. In the garden, though? I find hope, renewal, calm, life, faith despite the odds, humility, surprise, continuous metaphors for life and living (as you’ll see, I allude to some of them in Fearless). I also get to eat impossibly fresh food, and to put some by for the cold time, and learn learn learn. For starters. Wouldn’t you say, Dwain Cromwell, Barbara Kelley, Alice Oldfather, Shadi Towfighi, Irma Jennings, among many many others?

Started gardening in 1969, loosely part of back-to-the-land self-sufficiency movement. I was 16; didn’t think I’d live to see 20 as I saw the earth trembling on the edge of human-created ecocide. I’m 58 now; still see the world trembling but… can no longer even try to date the end of “as we know it ” ; am amazed & glad that environment is now part of our lingua franca & common conversation, tho the news still gets worse and worse & outlook’s still grim. In the garden, though? I find hope, renewal, calm, life, faith despite the odds, humility, surprise, continuous metaphors for life and living (as you’ll see, I allude to some of them in Fearless). I also get to eat impossibly fresh food, and to put some by for the cold time, and learn learn learn.

The world is ever-changing. The more the world changes, the greater our need is to return to our roots, hence the uptick in urban gardening. With all the atomization and mass-production of every aspect of our lives, people want to connect with a simpler way of life—a simpler way of life where one did not have to depend on the State to be fed. We currently depend on our governments to provide all our needs. What if those systems of governments were to ever fail? Well…we may follow the path of the dinosaurs who could not feed themselves when their food source changed. That occurrence would bring about the end of the world as we know it.

I listen to a lot of shows that talk about ‘the end’. Most agree, as I do, that we will not see a real world version of ‘Mad Max’ the movie. Much more likely is the loss of a job, damage caused by the ever more crazy weather, and steadily rising food prices due to world wide food crop failures. Oh, and a worsening economic situation for the foreseeable future.

A garden, aside from the peace of mind it brings, and occasional frustrations is at least a part of the solution to these problems. Fresh food right outside your door, even if it is not enough to feed yourself, will leave that much more commercial food available to someone who may actually be starving. It saves the gardener money, and provides fresh healthy food. Plants absorb CO2 from the air. Soon it will get too expensive to ship food halfway around the globe and people will go back to buying things that are ‘in season’ and locally grown. There really aren’t many reasons not to have some sort of garden even if it is a handful of containers.